Meredith Heily wins MSHS 3 Minute Thesis Competition heat
On Thursday 26 June, six Melbourne School of Health Sciences graduate researchers (GRs) participated in the annual 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) heat to determine who would go on to the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (MDHS) finals.
The 3MT is a globally-recognised competition providing the opportunity for GRs to develop effective communication skills and explian their research and its significance to a non-specialist audience, using plain language, within 3 minutes.
A big congratulations to Meredith Heily, the MSHS 3MT winner and winner of the People’s Choice Award, who will be representing MSHS in the MDHS finals. Meredith’s thesis ‘Waking Up! Anaesthetic emergence agitation after adult cardiac surgery: an observational study’ looks at the problem of agitation that occurs when weaning adult patients off anaesthetic and breathing support after cardiac surgery in the ICU setting. A study of 700 people after cardiac surgery found that approximately a third experience anaesthetic-emergence agitation after cardiac surgery. This is clinically significant as it results in prolonged cardiorespiratory complications, breathing difficulties, increased hospital stay, and delirium. Meredith’s study looks at identifying, characterising and quantifying agitation, and identifying key risk factors to reduce the risk of emergence agitation and improve patient health outcomes.
Meredith shared that "Although initially reluctant to join the 3MT competition, I am so glad I did. The criteria required refinement of my rationale and findings to three minutes. I found this helped to crystallize the high points of my PhD."
Congratulations to all MSHS GR finalists:
Winner – Meredith Heily (Department of Nursing) - Waking Up! Anaesthetic emergence agitation after adult cardiac surgery: an observational study
Runner up - Van Callaly (Department of Social Work) - Working Metaphors: Cross-Sector Collaboration between Domestic Violence and Substance Use Services
Hannah Sharma (Department of Physiotherapy) - Preventing Falls in Ethically Diverse Older People
Chengjie Peng (Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences) - Surgical precision with a possible window to brightness
Nicola Burgess (Department of Physiotherapy) - Personalised Prehab: a smarter, targeted approach to preparing for joint replacement surgery
Claire Madelaine Tjakra (Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences) - The Retinal Mystery: Who’s Killing Your Photoreceptors?
